What's the difference between a slip and a relapse?

There’s a difference – and it’s a big one. Here at QuitNet, we define a slip as a short break from being quit, and we think of a relapse as when someone returns to their old smoking pattern. We don’t believe that someone who slips is a smoker again. Nicotine is powerful and addictive, and many quitters slip along the way. We don’t believe that this puts them back at the beginning.